Designing and building a custom home (even with a great team) can be overwhelming. When you have control over every facet of a home, it’s natural to get overwhelmed with choices. Decisions about finishes, flooring, cabinetry, and even paint can overwhelm just about anyone and lead to a frenzy of samples, research, and internet guides.
Work With a Team You Trust
In order to be less overwhelmed by the decisions and selections involved with designing and building a custom home, follow the tips below:
It’s worthwhile to meet with a selection of custom builders to find the one that best understands you, your lifestyle, and aesthetic. A good custom builder will spend plenty of time with you, asking thoughtful questions, and working with you to design some style and mood boards.
When you work with a team that understands your style, you can rely on them to make selections for you, or to at least narrow down options to a handful for you to select from.
You Don’t Have to Select Everything at Once
It’s exciting to dive in and start imagining your future home, but it doesn’t need to all be planned right away. Of course, structural decisions will come before finishes and interior design, so work with your custom builder to make a timeline for the selection and decision-making process.
Start with a calendar and a checklist for large structural choices like garages, roof, etc. As you check things off, update your list and move to new selections that need to be made.
Be Explicit With How Much Time and How Involved You Can or Want to Be
If you are feeling overwhelmed, let your design-build team know. Let your team whittle decisions down to a few options they can run by you. Your level of involvement is your decision, so communicate when you want to be more involved and when you trust your team to work with your interests and style in mind.
It may be helpful to decide on a communication schedule to set days and times when you and the builder can check-in and take care of business. Whether this is daily, weekly, or monthly, set something that works for both of you.
Keep Track of Selections and Try Not to Second Guess
Whether you prefer to keep things online in a document or on a Houzz board, or if you like a notebook and pen, be sure to record the decisions you’ve made.
Surprisingly, recording your process can go a long way toward relieving some of the stress of building a truly custom home. It’s why journaling and list-making is such a powerful tool in relieving stress and anxiety.
Additionally, trust your choices. Move forward and try to resist the temptation to revisit decisions and make changes. If you trust your design-build team, they will let you know when they think something won’t work.
Remind Yourself of the Big Picture
You can drive yourself crazy over a paint color or style of trim. Details are important, but don’t lose sight of the grander vision. Will you notice these details when you’ve moved in? Maybe, maybe not. More importantly, details are easy to change, so it makes a lot more sense to spend your time on larger (and more expensive) decisions.
Build Your Custom Home in Myrtle Beach
Odom Design is a full-service custom home company. Our team handles structural and architectural design, interior design and landscaping and hardscaping. Malcolm Odom has a history building some of the Grand Strand’s most compelling custom homes across a variety of styles and budgets.
Are you looking at a custom design-build in Myrtle Beach? Visit our website and let’s chat about what you have in mind.